Responsible reform

A letter from Dr. H. Lee Schneider Jr. appeared in this paper Friday, and he raised a number of excellent points about the important debate over U.S. health-care reform.

First and foremost, the House health-care reform legislation being debated as of the writing of this letter has been assembled behind closed doors. If it were voted upon in the U.S. House of Representatives today, it would fail miserably. I would oppose it, and I have publicly opposed many components of this measure in other forms. Congress should be deliberate, inclusive and thorough when addressing this complex issue, but so far it is 0-for-3.

Responsible health-care reform requires us to improve access to quality care by lowering costs without impinging on the doctor-patient relationship or by limiting Americans' access to private coverage. Multiple opportunities for cost-cutting reforms exist in the system, as well as in Medicare and Medicaid, by removing barriers to access of prescription drugs and speeding the approval process for generic drugs, by expanding risk pools for health insurance and by using evidence-based outcomes to make better information about drugs and treatments available to patients and doctors.

Instead, the crux of this debate is over the size and shape of a "public option" -- a single-payer, government provided insurance product which would subsidize the insurance for low-income Americans at taxpayer expense while at the same time competing with private insurers for patients at higher income levels. This option is poor for several obvious reasons: It would force Americans out of employer-provided coverage with fees, taxes and penalties. It could intervene in the decision-making of doctors and their patients. And it would add the new demand of millions of insured Americans to the market for health-care services, driving up costs for quality care.

Instead, we must find responsible ways to expand access to the American health-care system and to graduate from a system that treats only illness to one that also prioritizes wellness -- regular and preventive care that identifies serious diseases and conditions early instead of in late stages when treatments become extraordinarily expensive and far less effective.

The costs of the uninsured in America today are borne by taxpayers and every paying participant in our health-care system, and those costs are substantial. Broader health-care coverage is a goal of mine not just to serve the sick who currently have no way to access the system other than an emergency room, but also to make these Americans paying stakeholders in the system, even at the lowest levels of income. I think everyone can afford five dollars to pay for the treatment of a serious disease or injury. Quality health care is a privilege in our great country, and access to this system of care demands responsibility when using it. At the same time, doctors are sworn to treat the sick wherever they encounter them, and Congress should use the same compassionate approach to ensure that the system can be accessed by everyone who needs it.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, you can be sure I am working toward the responsible realization of this goal. I want to cut costs, introduce better technologies for patient tracking and care (especially in rural America), make sure treatments are affordable, effective and available and ensure that Americans are not turned away when they most need the care of a doctor. As I carefully consider health-care reform measures on behalf of southern Missouri, I appreciate everyone in our district who stays up to speed on these important issues as well.

Jo Ann Emerson of Cape Girardeau represents Missouri's 8th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.